No renovation and modernization project of this magnitude has been carried out at the Luminy site since its first buildings were erected in the 1960s. The Campus Plan, which has been allocated an extraordinary budget for the next 30 years, aims to expand the reach of the research center internationally and boost its appeal to researchers around the world with cutting edge equipment. The university is also developing closer ties with the business world.

Luminy is a town devoted to teaching and research located inside the Parc des Calanques. It recently kicked off a complete overhaul of its real estate assets, which cover nearly 250 acres of verdant spaces. Aix-Marseille University, which earned accreditation from French Ministry of Higher Education and Research in 2009, will receive approximately €21 million per year for the next 30 years. These funds are earmarked for rehabbing Luminy's historic structures and building new complexes.

"Our plan seeks to raise the site's profile and increase its drawing power in education and research. Our laboratory equipment will attract world-class researchers. We also want to create more interactions between academia and the business world. The Aix-Marseille Provence metropolitan area is going to develop its technology park, which is already home to 20 biotech companies like Innate Pharma and Trophos," explains Bertrand Mallet, Director of the Luminy Campus Plan Program.

This ambitious program will also propose new services to the campus's resident business leaders, researchers and students: hotel accommodations, restaurants, shops and a healthcare clinic.

Four Years of Work to Renovate an Additional 344,000 ft2

The first building to be completed was the Oceanology Laboratory in 2014. The "MIO" laboratory, which is home to all the oceanological activities carried out in the Provence-Alps-French Riviera region, is part of the Pytheas Institute's Observatory for Sciences of the Universe. It comprises 118,000 ft2, two buildings and 150 researchers.

In late 2014, the College of Science and Sports took delivery of a new facility inside the Technosport. The research building, which cost €8 million, has 38,000 ft2 of space for testing new sports equipment. Decathlon, Nike and national sports federations are already using it.

On April 29, 2016, the university signed a partnership agreement with a group of companies led by Bouygues Bâtiment Sud-Est to renovate and redesign three buildings. The work will consist of rehabilitating two lots (totaling 344,000 ft2) that are used for research and learning. The "Hexagon", one of Luminy's historic structures, will be converted into an iconic, multi-use space: university library, international relations office, conference room, cafeteria, etc. Work on the complex is expected to start this summer for delivery in early 2021. Nearly 15,000 people work at the Luminy site each day, including 9,000 students and 6,000 researchers, faculty and administrative staff.